Ozz attempts to quit drinking; Humanity to suck even more

So, I have decided to quit drinking. This is mainly an experiment as a whole as I've never really gone long periods without having alcohol. The longest I went was two weeks maybe?

Anyway, let me give you a little background on my decision:

I moved into an apartment about 3 months ago (has it been that long already?) and since then I have been drinking more and more, either out of boredom or out of loneliness. I started to get out of control when I would go out on the weekends since the bars were so close to my place. It would get to the point where I'd drive home and not even remember part of the night.

Well, I've known that was stupid for a while and I'm finally doing something about it. I can't really risk doing it anymore because there's too much at stake. I was on my way back from the fitness center at my complex and I ran into one of the leasing agents I have befriended. She told me how she had been in an accident not even 48 hours before. A 22 year old man had been driving his car down a side street with no lights on. He was speeding and had been drinking. He hit the girl's jeep (which she wasn't driving because she had her sister and her sister's boyfriend pick her up) and her sister's car. He totaled her car and the three victims are suing for damages, both emotional and physical.

I hear stuff like this every week it seems. It also doesn't help that I see more and more vehicles with the yellow plates now (the yellow plates signify that the person registered to drive the car has a suspended license due to an OVI (operating a vehicle impaired) conviction).

I'm 25 years old. I have a decent job, a decent car and I'm starting to figure out what it's like to be on my own. I can't go fuck that up by getting pulled over while driving drunk or by hitting a family and potentially killing someone inside.

I know there are other avenues to this. There are a few bars within walking distance I could go to and continue to drink, but it's just healthier in the long run to do this. I still plan on having a beer or something if I go out to eat at, say, Applebee's or something or if I'm not the one driving the car that night. Special events are also a reason to make an exception.

Usually, drinking would help me with my writing. It was the main catalyst in some of, what I feel are, the best poems I have written. Some of the greatest writers were drunks too (I think Hemingway was one). My writing will suffer because of this, but I haven't really been in the mood to write lately anyway. I think that's because I'm a bit happier than I was this time last year. I'm not as pissed off as I used to be.

Drinking was also a way to deal with the overall asininity of people. It was also a social lubricant in my case. I think I'll be a bit more shy now when I go out, but luckily I found a bar where I have become friends or good acquaintances with a good amount of people there, so hopefully things work out.

Another main reason for doing this is that my paternal grandfather was an alcoholic. He was a World War II veteran with a Silver Star and two Purple Hearts. He was injured in the war and was unable to walk well since then. He resorted to cheap whiskey as his comfort. Eventually he quit for a while, but then started up again after my Dad was out of college I think. I don't really remember how my Dad explained it and I don't feel like bringing it up again with him.

In my opinion, I thought I was going down that path. I thought I was using the bottle (or can as the case may be) for comfort. I thought I was using it to be my best friend when I already have good friends and family around me. It's not who I am and it's not what I want.

Goodbye old friend.